Some people won't give up. Jesus uses such a character in his story: A woman who is determined, relentless about making contact with a judge so she can secure justice. Perhaps she knocked on his door- sat in the hallway outside his office- sent him a text- called out to him as he passed by-- in all ways possible, she was going to interact. Jesus invites us to be as determined and constant about prayer. To pray always and to not loose heart because we are seeking out, not an unfair judge, but the One who gives us life.
In other places in Scriptures, we are told to pray without ceasing, to devote ourselves to prayer, to pray every morning, night and noon. Prayer is the many ways that we are in communication and in communion with God. There is no single way to pray. To pray is an essential part of being human: to be in relationship with our Creator. God yearns to hear from you and to share with you. Prayer is for everyone: not just for a few. Throughout our lives, we are in the school of prayer as we continue to learn how to pray. If you have felt that you could not pray, didn't know how to pray, or you are searching for something more, I think that what I have to share will be helpful. Our app for today is PRAYER .
It has been said that all prayers can be reduced to two words: we are either crying out HELP or THANKS! How can we express ourselves daily to the Almighty? Let's start with “simple prayer” . Richard Foster wrote a book on prayer where he speaks of 21 different experiences of prayer. He begins with “Simple prayer” and explains that form is when we share all that is on our hearts with God. You offer yourself as you are. We don't have to worry about the grammar, or the emotion, or what anyone else would think about our words. We share exactly what our life is like and our response to that life. Many Biblical prayers are in this format and this may be the form that most of our prayers take. It suffices. What happens when we don't seem to have the words to say, or even the strength to say them. How can we pray more often? Is it possible to keep in touch with God throughout the day? Let's look at some ways to pray that have helped Christians throughout the centuries. Praying with Scripture First help: Praying with Scripture. There are prayers throughout the Bible and we can adopt those prayers for our own. The Book of Psalms has 150 psalms which are prayers.
I encourage you to read the Psalms, become familiar with them., and you may find words that are exactly what you would want to say. Psalms can speak for us. Underline phrases that resonate with you. Write them on cards and pray them. Examples: “Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” “Even though I walk through the dark valley, you are with me.” “My soul thirsts for you.” “Every night I think of your love and every morning your faithfulness.” When Jesus was on the cross, he used Psalms for his prayers:”My God, why have you forsaken me?” which is the beginning line from Psalm 22. and “Into your hands I commit my spirit” from Psalm 31. If possible, memorize short phrases from the Scripture and then you will have then in mind to guide your prayers. Throughout the day, you can recall the verses. In times of stress, you can pray: “Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I”; in times of joy, “I will give thanks to you and glorify your name forever.” “You Lord have made me glad.”
Breath prayers. I think we are all breathing out there today! We breathe all the time. A breath prayer is a short prayer of 6-8 syllables. As we breathe in, we say a few words and as we breathe out, we say a few words. How do we choose those words? This takes some thoughtful consideration. Sit quietly. Imagine that you are speaking with Jesus, and he asks you “What do you want?” What would your answer be? Answer from the heart: “what I want most is....” Your answer will rise out of your present concerns so it may be about healing, peace,guidance,forgiveness.
Search for a few words that best express what you need to be whole. Begin your prayer with an address that you commonly use for God such as: Jesus, Lord, Savior, Heavenly Father,Shepherd, Eternal God, Light of the world. Put the two together as: “O Christ, give me strength or “ Father, show me your love.” “Shepherd, lead my steps.” Work with your prayer until it seems right for you. This is your prayer of the heart: you can pray it when you are at at stop light, waiting in line, as you go to sleep at night. It probably won't change from day to day.
Ron Delbane, an Episcopal pastor, shared that when some one is having surgery, he likes to know what their breath prayer is. All the time they are in surgery, he prays it for them. He encourages them to say the prayer as they go into surgery and as they wake up. A breath prayer is your personal prayer that you can express anywhere, anytime. We don't have to use a lot of words in prayer.
When you have spent time in creating your breath prayer than it does express what is deep within your soul. Praying without words Reminder:You don't have to always use words when you pray. It's alright to just sit and be quiet. Listen. Find a quiet place: take a walk in the woods, sit in your backyard, be still in your favorite chair. Think about God's care for you. Story told of a poor peasant who would go and sit in the church sanctuary for hours. Priest asked him “What are you doing in there?” He replied, “ I look at God and God looks at me. And we both are happy.” Even 5 minutes a day in quiet can be times of prayer. Rest in God and allow the Spirit to say what you cannot say.
A childhood memory gave me a taste of “quietness.” I would sit on the porch of my great grandmother's house in the summer at night with aunts and my cousins. After games and conversation had ceased, we sat together in silence enjoying the stars and the night breeze. There was a great sense of peace; we just enjoyed being together with no words needed. Prayer can give us that same sense of resting in God's companionship.
Daily Prayer - This experience is called “daily prayer," or “prayer of the office”, or “common prayer”, or “prayer of the hours.” This practice can help in our frequency of praying. Throughout the Scriptures, it is mentioned that people prayed at certain times of the day. In Psalm 119:164, it speaks of praising God seven times a day. In N.T, we read of believers who prayed morning, noon, evening , night. In the past, bells would ring to remind folks that it was prayer time. They would stop their work in the fields and pray. There are Christians today who pause for prayer at certain times when they will read Scripture, and prayers. There are a variety of prayer books that you can get that have prayers for different times of the day.
In our UM hymnal there are orders for morning and evening prayer. A man was on a plane and having a great conversation with his seatmate, talking about their faith. His new found friend said it is almost noon and that he prayed everyday at noon. He asked “Would you like to join me? “ He got out his prayerbook, and together they took turns reading the Scriptures and joined in the prayers. Even as strangers, they were able to join in prayer together. One awesome thing about common prayer is that you are praying the same prayers with thousands of people all around the world. I just found a new website which emails me twice a day with a prayer /devotion for morning and one for evening (which takes about 12-15 minutes.) There are Scriptures for the day, prayers, Lord's Prayer, It is a reminder to stop my work and pray with others.
These prayers have great variety; their inclusiveness enables me to not always pray about myself! To join in the daily office can stretch our souls. Another resource which Pam George shared with me is called “ pray as you go.” It is a “once a day” prayer time with music and Scripture that you can listen to on your computer, iphone, ipod. Pray -as- you -go.org comes from Christians in England, and is also takes less than 15 minutes to listen to. You don't have to use a prayerbook- just remember to pray at 9 and noon and 6 or whatever pattern suits your life. You can pray when you take your medicines- pray when you let the dogs out...what are the “bells” that will call you to prayer? What are things that you do each day that can be reminders to prayer?
At the heart of our expressions of prayer , is the answer to this question: “Why do we pray? What is the purpose? “ I believe that it is to fall more in love with God. As Richard Foster expresses it, it is really not about getting things, but it is about being in a deeper relationship with God. So start where you are, and be as persistent as the woman in Jesus' story! Find the ways that help you stay connected with God. Whatever it takes: use informal words, spontaneous prayers,private cries, words spoken together in Sunday worship, words written in a notebook, hymns hummed as you work, kneeling without words, 10 second conversations as you drive your car. Pray always and don't lose heart!
Philip Yancey concluded his book on prayer by saying that he remains astonished that God desires an ongoing relationship with him, and that prayer was God's way of bridging the vast gulf between infinity and humans. Like needing oxygen to live, we have to pray.
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